Segars Lab: Unit on Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility

Overview

James Segars, who heads the Unit on Reproductive Endocrinology and Infertility, and his colleagues addressed disparities in access to reproductive services and treatment. Collaborative work established a complex relationship between the BRX gene complex and fibroid generation, and the Unit is expanding its work on several aspects of fibroids, including gene regulation and growth factors. With regard to fertility, the Walter Reed Army Medical Center s Assisted Reproductive Technologies Program continues to provide material for clinical studies. The Oocyte Physician Program, involving investigators at the NIH and the laboratory of Jacques Cohen in Livingston, New Jersey, looked at the effect of leiomyomas on early pregnancy, anti-M llerin hormone pre- and post-myomectomy, and ovarian reserves in patients with fibroids. A new area of investigation has been the assessment and preservation of ovarian function in women and girls undergoing cancer treatment. Another area of investigation is to assess whether obesity causes abnormal endometrial development. Several studies correlate endometrial thickness with pregnancy success; however, no study demonstrates a relationship between BMI, circulating E2 levels, and endometrial thickness. The Unit is thus examining the influence of BMI on endometrial development and E2 levels during ovarian stimulation with an IUI.